2024-03-05
Matthew 5:41 NIV
Jesus said, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” Roman soldiers were permitted to force a Jew to carry a burden a mile for them. They treated Jews as tools to be used. So, what do you do in that kind of situation? Jesus invites us to take the high road. A Roman soldier like these could probably be a young boy, a stranger there, probably poor himself. All he receives is local resentment. So, you finish the mile and say, “You look tired. Can I help you some more? Can I carry it for you another mile?” That would blow the soldier’s mind. Nobody asked that! That’s what you’re called to do!
When someone takes advantage of you, you want to think of them as unlikable rather than a real person with their own story. It’s said that a friend offered to introduce English essayist Charles Lamb to a man whom Lamb had disliked for a long time. “Don’t make me meet him,” Lamb said. “I want to go on hating him, and I can’t do that to a man I know.”
Understand this: You can give the gift of empathy. You can remember that the person you don’t like is also a human being. You can put yourself in his place. You can take the time to imagine how he feels, what he has been through, and how life has treated him. When you do that, your problem becomes an opportunity to practice the Christ life. Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that what you signed up for in the first place?
Soul food: Rev 1-4; Matt 20:17-34; Ps 70; Prov 6:26-28
Matteus 5:41 NLV
Jesus het gesê: ‘As ‘n soldaat jou dwing om sy goed een kilometer ver te dra, dra dit vir hom twee kilometer ver.’ Romeinse soldate was toegelaat om ‘n Jood te dwing om hulle bagasie een kilometer ver te dra. Hulle het Jode as ‘n stuk gereedskap om te gebruik gesien.
Wat sou jy in so ‘n tipe situasie gedoen het? Jesus raai ons aan om die mindere te wees. ‘n Romeinse soldaat soos hierdie kon heel waarskynlik ‘n jong seun, ‘n vreemdeling en waarskynlik self arm, wees. Wanneer jy dan die kilometer klaarmaak, sê jy: ‘Jy lyk moeg. Kan ek jou nog help? Kan ek dit vir jou nog ‘n kilometer dra?’ Dit sou die soldaat verstom. Dis egter wat jy geroep word om te doen.
Wanneer iemand jou uitbuit, wil jy aan hulle as onaangenaam, eerder as ‘n regte persoon met hulle eie verhaal, dink. Daar word vertel dat ‘n vriend die Engelse skrywer Charles Lamb aan ‘n man wat Lamb vir ‘n lang ruk op ‘n afstand gehaat het, wou voorstel. ‘Moenie my dwing om hom te ontmoet nie,’ het Lamb gesê. ‘Ek wil aanhou om hom te haat en ek kan dit nie doen aan ‘n man wat ek ken nie.’
Verstaan die volgende: Jy kan die gawe van empatie gee. Jy kan onthou dat die persoon van wie jy nie hou nie, ook ‘n mens is. Jy kan jouself in sy skoene plaas. Jy kan die tyd neem om jou in te dink hoe hy voel, waardeur hy is en hoe die lewe hom behandel het. Wanneer jy dit doen, word jou probleem ‘n geleentheid om die Christelike lewe uit te oefen. Is dit nie wat jy wil hê nie? Is dit nie waarom jy jou in die eerste plek bekeer het nie?
Sielskos: Op 1-4; Matt 20:17-34; Ps 70; Spr 6:26-28
2024-03-04
1 Chronicles 28:11-12 NIV
The first Jewish temple ranks as one of the architectural wonders of the ancient world. Built in the tenth century BC, the project’s scope was so massive that Solomon employed thirty thousand loggers and eighty thousand stonecutters. More than three thousand foremen managed the seven-year project. The temple was the epicenter of Judaism. It was the place of sacrifice. It was the place of worship. It was the place of pilgrimage. But like everything else, the temple was once a figment of the imagination.
The cumulative history of the Jewish temple can be traced all the way back to an idea in the mind of King David. But it wasn’t David’s idea. “David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord.”
We have no idea how God downloaded the plans to David. JPEGs? PDFs? Mental images? Detailed drawings? One thing is sure: The plans for the temple were not manufactured in David’s mind, they originated with the Spirit of God. The temple wasn’t just a good idea, it was a God idea.
So, ask God for an idea. Pray for a plan. Why? Two reasons. First because the Bible says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4 NIV). Second, when something is conceived by God’s Spirit, it is sure to succeed.
Soul food: 1 Kings 21-22; Matt 20:1-16; Ps 66:13-20; Prov 6:23-25
1 Kronieke 28:11-12 NLV
Die eerste Joodse tempel word as een van die argitektoniese wonders van die antieke wêreld beskou. Die projek, wat in die tiende eeu vC gebou is, was so groot dat Salomo dertigduisend houtkappers en tagtigduisend klipkappers in diens gehad het. Meer as drieduisend voormanne het die sewe jaar lange projek bestuur. Die tempel was die episentrum van die Joodse geloof. Dit was die plek om offers te bring. Dit was die plek van aanbidding. Dit was die plek waarheen pelgrimstogte onderneem is.
Tog was die tempel eers net ‘n deel van Dawid se verbeelding. Die kumulatiewe geskiedenis van die Joodse tempel kan na ‘n idee in die gedagtes van koning Dawid teruggevoer word. Dit was egter nie Dawid se idee nie. ‘Toe het Dawid aan sy seun Salomo die planne gegee vir die voorportaal van die tempel, die ander geboue, die skatkamers, die bovertrekke, die binnevertrekke, die vertrek van die versoendeksel en van alles wat hy in gedagte gehad het…’
Die Gees het Dawid van hierdie planne voorsien. Ons het geen idee hoe God die planne vir Dawid gegee het nie. In ‘n PDF dokument? Geestelike beelde? Gedetailleerde sketse? Een ding is egter seker: Die planne van die tempel is nie in Dawid se gedagtes vervaardig nie; hulle het hulle oorsprong in God se Gees gehad. Die tempel was nie net ‘n goeie idee nie, dit was God se idee.
Vra dus vir God vir ‘n idee. Bid vir ‘n plan. Hoekom? Om twee redes. Eerstens omdat die Bybel sê: ‘Wees bly in die Here, en Hy sal jou hartsbegeertes aan jou gee’ (Psalm 37:4 NLV). Tweedens, wanneer iets sy oorsprong in God se Gees het, sal dit sekerlik slaag.
Sielskos: 1 Kon 21-22; Matt 20:1-16; Ps 66:13-20; Spr 6:23-25
2024-03-03
Revelation 21:1 NIV
Perhaps the reason many of us are not as excited about heaven as we should be is because of what we have been told; that we will stand around playing harps, singing songs, and worshiping God forever. Think about it. When the singing and prayers in the average Sunday-morning service last longer than fifteen minutes, many get bored. So when we hear we will be doing this nonstop, twenty-four hours a day, forever in heaven, you understand why we can’t comprehend it or celebrate it. But there is more than one way of worshiping God.
Astronomers approximate the existence of hundreds of billions of galaxies, more than ten galaxies for each person alive today! So, you won’t run out of things to do in heaven, and it certainly won’t be boring. It has taken thousands of years for billions of humans to explore a single tiny planet, and we have barely scratched the surface. Exploring the marvels of the new heavens and the new earth will keep us intrigued forever. And our love for God will grow infinitely bigger as a result. So, we will never cease to worship Him.
Jesus told the woman at the well that God is looking for those who “worship… in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23 NIV). If you worship out of ignorance, worship is empty. God doesn’t just want you to worship Him; He wants you to know who you are worshiping and why you are worshiping Him. Worship is twofold; “in the Spirit and in truth.” So, learning the truth about God will keep you busy, excited, satisfied, and fulfilled for all eternity.
Soul food: Exo 20:16; Prov 24:28; Matt 5:33-37; Acts 5:1-11
